Projecting device for pin ball amusement apparatus



L. A. DURANT Dec. 22, 1953 PROJECTING DEVICE FOR PIN BALL. AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Filed July 16, 1951 Patented Dec. 22, 1953 PROJECTING DEVICE FOR PIN BALL AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Lyndon A. Durant, Chicago, Ill., assignor to General Patent Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application July 16, 1951, Serial No. 236,955

1 Claim. 1

In the conventional pin ball amusement apparatuses now commercially in use there is employed a plunger retractable against the action of a spring, and when released the plunger is adapted by spring action to impinge upon a ball and project the ball through a runway or channel for gravitation over a playing field or board.

To accomplish the most effective degree of impingement of the plunger against the ball the operator attempts to retract the plunger a certain distance to place the projecting spring under the required tension so that the desirable degree of impingement of the plunger against the ball may be accomplished. The object of this invention is to provide a pair of spaced gauge plates having graduation lines thereon with one of the plates being translucent and illuminated whereby the player may readily observe and locate the position to which the plunger has been withdrawn, thus enabling the player to locate the most effective retracted position of the plunger for the best results in the playing of the game.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings showing the preferred form of construction, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a pin ball amusement game apparatus having my invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional detail view of the same taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Only so much of the amusement game apparatus is illustrated as is thought necessary for a full understanding of my invention.

In this connection, the conventional and wellknown pin ball amusement game apparatus comprises a cabinet Iii having a transparent top wall I I and a playing field or game board l2. To this field l2, balls through a runway or channel 13 are projected, the balls being delivered to such channel by conventional ball delivering mechanism, through an opening l4.

To project the balls through the channel l3 there is provided a plunger 1 5.

This plunger l5 in the present instance is slidably arranged through a sleeve I6 carried by the front wall l1 oi the cabinet. The inner end of the plunger provides a tip I8 which is adapted to impinge against a ball presented to the plunger from the opening I4.

Embracing the shaft of the plunger between the tip I8 and the wall I! is an expansion spring l9. Between the finger button 20 of the plunger l5 and the sleeve I6 is a buffer spring 2| which serves to cushion the plunger l5 when released from a retracted position against the action of the spring l9.

The plunger I5 operates between two plates, a top plate 22 and a lower plate 23. The top plate is preferably formed of non-transparent material and has an elongated opening 24 formed therein directly over the plunger [5. Formed in the plate 22 on opposite sides of the opening 24 are graduation lines 25, certain of which are numbered as at 26.

The lower plate 23 is preferably formed of translucent material and has printed thereon lines 26' which register with the numbered graduation lines 26. These lines form, together with other printed lines, spaces 21 numbered as at 28.

Beneath the plate 23 is an electric lamp 29 which when illuminated illuminates the plate 23.

In use, a player retracts the plunger l5 to a position where the end of the tip I 8 will register with one of the graduation lines 25, such for example, let us say the graduation line bearing the number 4. By looking straight down upon the face of the tip Is he can accurately line the face thereof between the lines of the plate 23 defining the space 4. If it should result that this is the best position of the plunger when retracted which enables the player to effectively play the game he can upon again withdrawing the plunger locate the tip in the proper retracted position as previously located by merely observing, for example, the position of the tip with respect to the graduation lines 4 and the line there in reglstration with the space bearing number 4 on the plate 23. By illuminating the plate 23 the player is enabled to more readily observe the position of the plunger.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

In combination a projecting device for a pin ball amusement apparatus including a slidable plunger, means slidably supporting said plunger,

a compression spring acting on said plunger to manually position the plunger in a projected position with respect to its supporting means, a pair of superimposed plates between which said plunger is movable, the uppermost of these plates being dfajopaqueimaterial and'having an elongated opening' formed therein' over said plunger with graduation lines extending from the long edges of said opening on said plate, the otherdf said plates being of translucentrmaterial, indicia on said other plate consisting of numeraisaand graduation lines, the latter being in registration with certain of said graduation lines "on said upper plate, and means beneath said other'plate for illuminating said indicia, certain of said graduation lines of said upper plateaandsaidiindieia of said other plate being correspondingly numbered, with said correspondingly numbered"in- 4 dicia of said other plate exposed through said elongated opening in said upper plate when said plunger is slidably moved from said projected position to a position adjacent a preselected numbered graduation line of said upper plate. AJfDURANT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ltlumber i Name Date 2,113,049 Holland Apr. 5, 1938 $2,136,060 Shyvers Nov. 8, 1938 ':2,1 39;783 *NansTuyl Dec. 13, 1938 2,165,059 :Koci July 4, 1939 2,192,148 \DttO Feb. 27, 1940 2,584,956 "Williams Feb. 5, 1952 125103059 Koci Sept. 9, 1952 

